STARS WITH TIES TO MISSOURI
A CHAT WITH
FAIR ST. LOUIS
HEADLINER
MELISSA ETHERIDGE
By Cillah Hall
Melissa Etheridge is a survivor and has overcome
countless obstacles to become one of rock music’s
great female icons.
Propelled to super-stardom with the massive hits I’m
the Only One and Come to My Window from her sixtime platinum fourth album, Y I Am, Melissa recently
es
debuted her 12th collection of new material, titled This is
ME. Released on her independent label, ME Records, the
album features songwriting collaborations with some of
the most creative and innovative figures on today’s music
scene, including Jerrod Bettis, Jon Levine and Roccstar.
With a career highlighted by two Grammy Awards,
17 Grammy nominations, multi-platinum albums, an
Academy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame, Melissa has proven time and time again, that you
can be all you want to be while living an authentic life.
Gazelle: Congratulations on a spectacular
Gazelle: What has been your greatest
year! You’ve gotten married, created your
own record label, and spent the last few
months on tour, connecting with your fans.
After 35 years, how do you continue to
reinvent yourself?
challenge in your music career?
Melissa: Some people might call it
reinventing yourself, but I call it “keeping
goals in front of you.” Keeping the journey
the interesting part; not necessarily the end
result of the goal. We put the goals out there,
we put those dreams out there to reach for,
and that’s what I love doing. To stay on the
journey, stay relevant and in the journey.
That’s my plan.
Gazelle: What has it been like to be on your
own with the freedom to create music that
you want?
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Melissa: The freedom of being on my own
independent label also comes with a lot of
responsibility. I have no one else to blame
anymore. Nobody else that I can point a
finger at and say, “You didn’t do that.”
This is all up to me now, and I love that
responsibility. I love the power that comes
with that. The record that I released in
September is just now beginning to get some
traction, whereas in a big corporate setting,
it would be done. It would be over. Now I get
to put everything behind it; all the machinery
that I have and my whole organization.
GAZELLE STL
Melissa: Probably the greatest challenge
has been to stay really focused and truthful
on the music that I want to make. To not get
caught up in what might be popular at the
moment or what some other entities might
want me to do, but to really make sure that
my music is a part of me. It comes from a
very truthful place inside of me. That’s the
greatest challenge, but also the greatest
reward.
Gazelle: How do you stay true to who you
are while still changing with the times?
Melissa: Staying true to who I am is a
trademark of mine. It’s something that I
decided to do a long time ago when I realized
that being truthful about who I was is part
of what makes my music and what makes me
who I am. Yes, it’s challenging, it does create
conflicts at times, yet the end result is so
much more rewarding.
Gazelle: What can people expect from you
at Fair St. Louis?
Melissa: St. Louis is where my father grew
up. I have family there, I have a very strong
connection with St. Louis. I cannot wait to
play this gig. I am going to play the hits.
Everyone can expect to hear the old songs
that they love. I love doing those songs and
sharing them with everyone, and they can
expect to hear a couple of new things. Some
things that I hope will become hits. We’re
just going to have a great rock ‘n’ roll time.
Gazelle: On another note, you’re a cancer
survivor and a survivor of many challenges
in your early life. What words of wisdom can
you share with our female readers who may
be struggling to keep moving forward?
Melissa: You know this life is hard. Life
is like a school, and if you’re of the female
variety on this earth, it can have very unique
difficulties. For one thing, females really
want to please and make everything OK. I
know I certainly did. And we give ourselves
away. We give pieces of ourselves away. We
give too much of ourselves, and we stop
thinking about ourselves first. And I would
say to anyone after being a 10-year cancer
survivor that lowering your stress and taking
care of yourself first is the best thing you
can do for anyone. You need to take care
of yourself first. I need to do that. I need to
watch what I am eating, what I am thinking
about myself. Let’s be nicer to ourselves,
kinder to ourselves. That’s what I would tell
anyone moving forward.
Join Melissa Etheridge in Forest Park at Fair
St. Louis on Friday, July 3, beginning at noon.
Check out the schedule of events in our
“Happenings Around T
own” section.